Objective: In this study, we sought to determine the effects of hormone therapy (HT) on recurrence in Korean endometrial cancer (EC) survivors using data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database.
Methods: Using the HIRA claims database, we identified all Korean women who were newly diagnosed with EC (C54.1) and underwent surgical staging between 2010 and 2013. Patient characteristics such as age, HT exposure, lymphadenectomy, and adjuvant therapy were evaluated. Recurrence was assessed based on the time of radiation or chemotherapy after surgery. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the recurrence of EC.
Results: The mean follow-up period of this study was 47.5 14.0 months. In total, 5,667 patients were diagnosed with EC and underwent surgery in Korea. Of these, 847 patients (14.9%) received HT, while 4,820 patients did not receive HT. Recurrence was observed in 446 patients (7.8%), including 50 patients (5.9%) who received HT and 396 patients (8.2%) who did not receive HT. Univariate analysis revealed an increased recurrence rate in patients older than 50 years (HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.62-2.63), patients with advanced-stage EC (HR 24.51, 95% CI 18.63-32.35), and patients who underwent lymphadenectomy (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.21-2.03), and a reduced recurrence rate in patients who received HT (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46-0.83). Multivariate analysis confirmed the significant increase in recurrence in patients older than 50 years (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.14-1.89) and in patients with advanced-stage EC (HR 23.90, 95% CI 18.12-31.51). HT did not increase the recurrence rate of EC (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.31-2.10), and the recurrence rate did not differ according to the type of HT.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that HT does not increase disease recurrence in EC survivors, despite lack of data that could affect the outcome.